Life can be one big distraction. Emails, phone calls, text messages, tweets and posts can quickly eat away at the hour or less of writing time you’ve carved out for yourself. And those are just the digital distractions! They don’t account for the mental, physical, and emotional distractions you have to deal with. Writing distractions […]
April 12, 2013 by 28 Comments Writing Life11 Ways Stay-at-Home Moms (and Other Busy Folks) Can Find Time to Write
One of the most startling moments of my life was when I realized I was going to like being a working mom.I grew up in the suburban ’80s of leftover-stay-at-home moms, as did my husband. I loved having a mom at home and I vowed that I would be a stay-at-home mom for my kids, as […]
August 5, 2012 by 38 Comments Most Common Writing MistakesMost Common Writing Mistakes: Not Enough Story Tension
How can you keep your story moving forward in scenes that don’t offer full-blown conflict? No doubt you’ve heard the aphorism, “No conflict, no story.” But your characters can’t be clawing each other’s eyes out in every scene. So how do you keep readers hooked until you can pull out the big guns? The answer […]
June 24, 2012 by 73 Comments Writing LifeAre You Writing Your Novel Too Fast?
Are you writing your novel too fast? How fast should a novel be written? Is there some kind of guideline to which all authors should conform? Are faster writers better than slow writers—or vice versa? When it comes to my own writing, I admit I’m a tortoise. I can spend roughly a year outlining and […]
April 11, 2012 by 25 Comments NarrativeHow to Show the Passage of Time in Your Novel
The passage of time is one thing all stories have in common. In some stories, such as “The Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge” by Ambrose Bierce, maybe only a few minutes pass. In some novels, such as James Michener’s Centennial, decades pass. In some books, we may even see millennia go by. But no matter how much time […]
March 2, 2012 by 33 Comments Writing InspirationThe Benefits of Reading Deprivation
She is too fond of books, and it has turned her brain.—Louisa May Alcott First, thanks to K.M. for inviting me to be a guest at Wordplay. Romance University is in such fabulous company among Write to Done’s other Top 10 Blogs! We’re going to talk about something potentially painful today, so square your shoulders, puff […]
August 7, 2011 by 53 Comments Writing Life7 Ways to Make Family and Pets Respect Your Writing Time
Writing time is precious. Once you’re sitting at your desk, fingers poised over the keyboard as you wait to rendezvous with the characters you’ve been dreaming about all day, the last thing you want is someone barging into your solitude. Picture this: There you are, typing merrily away, the sweet violins of inspiration gliding along […]
April 3, 2011 by 48 Comments Writing Life4 Ways to Avoid the Pitfalls of a Writer’s Solitude
We either cherish a writer’s solitude or wish to. Many writers who juggle family, friends, and a day job, along with writing, would often like nothing better than to slam the door against the rest of the world. Ah, solitude! Sometimes the word is a siren song of peace and productivity. But sometimes a writer’s […]
December 5, 2010 by 33 Comments Writing LifeWhat Kind of Writer Are You?
Here’s a truth that is both deceptively simple and all too often overlooked: Not all writers are created equal. In fact, all writers are as unique as their fingerprints. Just as our stories are (we hope) distinctive, so are our personalities and lifestyles—and, as a result, our working patterns. In pursuit of bettering our craft, we […]
April 21, 2010 by 34 Comments Plotting Your NovelThe Top Trick for Heightening Story Suspense
Giving your characters a deadline—and suitably disagreeable consequences if they fail to meet it—ups the ante and keeps readers glued to your story suspense. Even better, it’s a super-easy trick to apply to your story! Your hero’s goal is what shapes your story. Without something he needs or wants, your hero just an interesting personality […]
